5 Reasons You Aren't Advancing to the Next Interview

"I'm sorry, but we've decided to go in a different direction." How many times have you heard that from an employer? It's the textbook dismissal when they want to cut you loose without a second interview or an explanation, which, let's be honest, is most of the time.

In their defense, they can't tell you why. For one, it exposes them legally. For another, it reopens a conversation they want closed. They're moving on with someone else and don't want to spend more energy on you. It's like the high school sweetheart who went off to college while you stayed home: they moved on, and they weren't interested in giving you tips on being a better partner to someone else.

We will, though. We can tell you the blunders and gaffes, large and small, that candidates make all the time without realizing it. Here are the top five reasons you aren't getting hired. We hope they help you raise your game.

1. A bad first impression

Your audience makes snap decisions when they find you on LinkedIn. If you don't look like the professional person they want to hire, there's a good chance they won't give you the chance to prove otherwise. Smile. Don't stand in a shadow, with a drink in hand or holding your President's Club plaque. Just a headshot. No props. Keep it simple.

2. Your social handles

Your audience scrutinizes you before you've even had a live conversation. We aren't suggesting paranoia about posts from a Friday night out, just common sense about what you share and what conclusions might be drawn from it.

3. Recruiter etiquette, or the lack of it

The recruiters you work with are trusted advisors to your future boss. Think about that for a second. Blow them off and you can easily lose your chance at an interview. Savvy candidates understand this and work with their recruiters, which earns them real advantages: first pick of interview slots, and coaching on what each interviewer cares about most.

4. Failing to prepare

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Whether you're meeting a recruiter or a CEO, if you can't discuss the opportunity intelligently, you've likely blown your chances. Playing it cool, as if they're lucky you showed up, doesn't work.

5. No follow-through

You had a great interview. It couldn't have gone better. You wait for the callback, and it never comes. What happened is that the interviewer was waiting to see your follow-through. The interview is only half of their evaluation, and the best interviewers treat the follow-through as the other half. Skip it, or send a generic thank-you note, and you miss a chance to separate yourself from the pack.

There are plenty more, but this list covers the worst we've seen, and we've seen some big ones. For the interview itself, the Breaking Into MedTech guides and the candidate video library walk through every stage.